


Vanilla Twilight

by SassyBlueberryMcClain (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Keith angst, Keith will become the black paladin again, Langst, M/M, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, first fic, flufffffffff, idk anymore, im sorry not sorry, klance, klangst, red loves lance and keith, red ships klance, sorry klance will be there in ch 2, time travel in future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-10 00:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SassyBlueberryMcClain
Summary: What happens after s4 and s3lots of klance fluffFIRST FIC :):)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own voltron  
> KLANCE  
> i named this after my favorite song - sue me  
> i just wanted some Indian characters- i just wanted some representation  
> BLEH  
> FIRST FIC  
> PLZ GIVE FEEDBACK TNX

_**SIX MONTHS AGO** _

 

_**Shiro knew at that moment that something went wrong. Horribly so. One moment he was in his lion, fighting Zarkon, and the next- well... He was kind of falling off a cliff right now. He made an attempt to grab the sides of the cliff but he grabbed his side, wincing in pain. He closed his eyes and waited for the sweet release of death. Anyway, Voltron has Keith. Keith will be my successor. Keith will lead Voltron. He waited a bit more, his mind empty of thoughts. He was sure he had stopped falling. But... was this death- He wasn't dead. There was no impact, and he felt suspended in air and-** _

"S-Shiro??"

A voice cut his thought process off. Shiro's eyes fluttered open and he looked down he was dangling from the cliff. He looked up to the figure who was holding him by his collar, struggling to keep both of them from falling to their death. The girl turned around and grunted as she kicked the cliff and set them down at a pace faster than Shiro would have liked.

"WHAT are you-" Shiro began.

"SHUT UP AND TRUST ME!" The girl said, still holding on to his collar.

That voice. Those words. Shiro felt like he knew both from somewhere- though he could not quite point out what it was. The girl raised her left hand and a grappling hook ripped into the rock face from the thick metal cuff that adorned most of her forearm. She huffed and pulled her arm down and they both swung, Shiro still dangling and holding onto her legs like a doll, and they ended up three feet above the ground. Shiro dropped down ad the girl followed soon after, taking a quick glance at her cuff and the area where the grappling hook had tore into the rock face. _**The hook is not for battle**_. Shiro thought. _**It's way smaller than Pidge's bayard**_.

The girl helped Shiro to a nook in the bottom of the cliff where a small shed-like thing was located. This doesn't look like Keith's, but- It reminds me of it. He thought back to the day where Keith and Lance, along with Pidge and Hunk had rescued him from the Garrison hospital. She pushed open the door and helped Shiro onto a cot. The room was filled with a light blue and violet glow, mostly from the Biotech machines that were up and running in various spots around the room- they emitted a soft humming noise that was oddly comforting. It reminded Shiro of the castleship. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

      _ **Shiro woke up to look around the room. He looked to his side- It hurt less- there were some medicinal patches attached to his wounds. The room was the same. Still filled with the soft glow and hum of machines, and adorned with different space posters. Shiro turned around to face the girl who was still sitting in front of him. Her tense features relaxed. He now could observe her a bit better. She had a scar that ran down the length of her face, one side of her neck and down her shoulder and upper arm. She looked up and her ebony hair fell a bit to the side. Shiro's eyes widened at the realization. Her eyes were two different colors. One was a violet-stormy grey color- Like Keith. The other was an orangish brown. She was wearing a tank top and black jeans and black heeled combat boots. Her motorcycle jacket was carelessly slung over a chair.**_  

   She turned her head sideways. "You feeling better?" She said slowly.

"Yea," Shiro said slowly, rubbing his head. "Who are you- where- where am I? "

"You are on Earth- and you shouldn't be... I have a feeling about this- we have to get you back- It's not safe." She said.

"What is your name? Thanks for saving me by the way-" He said holding out his hand.

"Shanaya. And anytime."She said a bit hesitantly. She reached out and shook his hand.

She leaned back in the chair and shouted in another language, which was replied to by a muffled shout. She turned around and soon after, a little boy of what looked like seven burst into the room holding a glass of water. He turned his head to look at Shiro and then his jaw dropped. Shiro got a little tensed at this until the little boy's eyes started sparkling.

"NO WAY!... NO WAY!! AKKA YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! SHIRO- THE SHIRO IS HERE, IN OUR LAB!!" He exclaimed, practically bursting with excitement.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?" Shiro said slowly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hi sir, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir, I'm Arun- but you can call me Aru, It's what my Akka calls me, and sir, It's an honor to be in your presence. You are my role model and you have done so much-" The little boy rambled on until Shanaya shot him a warning.

Shiro's eyes glinted with amusement. He took the glass from the boy and ruffled his hair.

"It's an honor to meet you, cadet." He said smiling softly before taking a sip of water. The water felt like a breather. It felt like breathing again for the first time after years of being suffocated. It felt like the rays of sunshine in the early morning. It felt good. The little boy was now observing his bionic hand with fervent enthusiasm.

"Sir, this is so cool! Can I touch it!" He said making a puppy dog face.

"Of course, and call me Shiro, not sir." He said. Shanaya chuckled in mirth. She narrowed her eyebrows and soon her expression was serious again.

"So, what happened out there?" She asked slowly. "I was in the Black Lion, we were battling Zarkon, and then I was here. The Black Lion must have teleported me..." He said thoughtfully.

"WAit. Voltron...?" She said. Her eyes widened. _**So it's true. Shiro is the Black Paladin.**_

She shook her head a little, her hair falling into her face again. "Yes. Have you heard of it? " she said. "Yea." She said softly. "My mother used to talk about it a lot. We have to get you back. No one on Earth can know about Voltron, or the fact that you are alive. The fact that you are here is a bad thing. We have to get you back." "How? Our technology is still too primitive to get us there that fast?!?" Shiro said. She turned around and smirked. "Follow me." She said. Aru ran in front of her to a connecting room, which held a jaw-dropping sight. _**A Galra ship made of spare parts! What have you been working on?**_ She laughed. "A lot." She murmured. Oops. had he said that out loud? "It will take a week to finish, but by then I think we will be good to go. Is that ok with you." She turned to look at him. "Yes."

_**Shiro was grateful. Yea. He needed to get back. Keith would lead, but with Zarkon, Haggar and Lotor still out there, it was not safe.** _


	2. Keef don't do dat plz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KLANCE

_** IN THE PRESENT!** _

 

_**They had just returned from the events at Naxela. Lance's head was still spinning. Lotor had saved them. He hated that. It was like a puch to the gut. But, truthfully, he was worried. He saw Matt and Keith talking earlier and he needed to know what was going on. He didn't get the chance yet. Just- maybe after this meeting. The Castleship would be full of their allies and a few blade members for the week, deciding what to do with Lotor. Prince quiznacking Lotor. That looser.** _

Right now, the best thing Lance could do was to halfheartedly listen to Allura as the talked about possible ideas of what to do next and make it less obvious that he was staring at Keith. He hadn't seen the guy in quite some time. Who could blame him? Allura eventually dismissed all of them, saying that they would discuss more ideas on what to do with Lotor the next morning. He got up and trudged to his room and flopped down onto his bed. He closed his eyes and his mind was devoid of thoughts, until he heard quiet footsteps go past his room. He soon heard a second, and third pair of footsteps follow as they walked past his room. He opened his eyes and making sure nothing was heard, sneaked out of his room and hid behind the wall, listening to everything that the people in the room were saying. 

"I DIDN'T - IT WAS THE RIGHT THING!"  _ **That was definitely Keith.**_

"WHAT SACRIFICING YOURSELF- YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"  _ **Pidge.**_

"SO WHAT IF I DIED! I WOULD HAVE SAVED YOU AND EVERYONE WITHIN TEN STAR SYSTEMS!"  _ **Keith again. NO. THIS COULD NOT BE TRUE.**_

"DUDE.. If Lotor hadn't come in you would have..." ** _Hunk._**

"THE BARRIER WOULD HAVE BROKEN AND YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE!"  _ **WHAT WAS KEITH THINKING.**_

"And if it didn't?"  _ **NO NONONONO. NOT HAPPENING.**_

Lance ran into the room.

"KEITH!" He proceeded to shove him up against a wall. 

"L-LANCE!" Lance almost never saw Keith scared. He was definitely scared now. 

"KEITH YOU IDIOT WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" 

"Lance. you don't understand. It was the right thing!" He was cut of by Lance's shouting. Lance didn't even notice the hot tears that were flowing down his face uncontrollably.

"WE COULD HAVE LOST YOU WHAT DID YOU THINK WE WERE GOING TO DO AFTER YOU DIED HUH? DID YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE WHEN ULAZ OR THACE SACRIFICED THEM FOR US WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! WE NEED YOU!"

Keith's face contorted in sadness and his eyes glazed over. " YOU DON'T NEED ME! I'M NOT A PALADIN ANYMORE! I HAVE NOTHING TO FIGHT FOR EXCEPT KEEPING ALL OF YOU ALIVE, EVEN IF IT MEANS MY DEATH LANCE!" 

"You have no idea how much you scared me!" Lance choked out between sobs. " You better not do that again! I-I don't know what we would do without you... I don't know what I would do without you... Keith please- please stay alive." Lance sobbed into Keith's armor. 

"You mean so much to us- Keith please..." Lance looked up at Keith. 

Keith looked down. "I w-won't. For you... and the rest of the team..."

Soon they were hugging. All of them. Including Hunk and Pidge. 

Before they went back to bed Hunk hugged Keith once more and Pidge did too- telling him how he was like a brother to her. Lance lingered behind. He sat down on the observation deck- where they already were at that time. He looked at the stars, his eyes still watery. Keith sat down next to him and they talked for a while. He then let his head fall on Keith's shoulder and fell a sleep. Keith did too. They sat their, a blanket of sleep enveloping them- basking in each other's presence.  _ **Lance missed Keith a little. Ok, maybe it was more than a little. And maybe he cared about him more than he liked to admit. Maybe he had a crush on Keith..**_


	3. three weeks before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what happens after the ship was finished.

   _ **THREE WEEKS BEFORE NAXELA**_

 

_**Shanaya looked in front of her. The ship she had been working on was finally complete and Shiro, Aru, and herself were in space for a few month now. The ship traveled slower than a normal one- It was made with parts from a crashed ship. They had been traveling for a while and had succeeded in immobilizing  seven Galran bases that seemed to close to Earth. Shiro had insisted that he pilot. She sat, figiting with her obsidian and opal ring that adorned her hand while Nikola Tesla sat in her lap, purring and batting her hand. Nikola Tesla was her cat- he usually sat in the ship while they were on Earth. He was what grounded her and helped her on a daily basis. Shanaya didn't know where she would be without him.** _

_**One second everything was peaceful and quiet- before alarms sounded throughout the ship.**_ Aru let out a squeak of alarm and clung onto Shiro's chair. He had decided that Shiro was his safe place. It was so amusing how the two got along. Aru had even started calling him Anna. She was really happy for him. He had a hard time making connections with people ever since the accident. The star drew them in and all that they could do was wait. pulled  up the built in cams on the ship.

"WE ARE SURROUNDED BY FIGHTERS!"

"HOW DID THEY FIND US!" Shiro growled in response. 

" THEY MUST HAVE PUT A TRACKER ON OUR SHIP!" She said through gritted teeth.

Shiro expertly steered the ship to keep it from getting destroyed by the oncoming assault, but it was too late when they realized it was a trap. 

"SHIRO GET US OUT OF HERE WE ARE HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THAT STAR!" 

"IT'S GRAVITATIONAL PULL IS TOO STRONG!" 

"THE SHIP IS GOING TO EXPLODE!" The gravitational field of the star was drawing them in and all they could do was wait. Wait for the sweet release of death. Shiro was pressed into his seat, While Shanaya did the same with a freaked out cat wrapped around her neck. Aru was holding her hand while the other one was digging into Shiro's seat.  _ **Goodbye...But who to say that to...**_ There was a blinding flash of light and the ring on her hand crackled to life and soon the entire ship was sparking with rays of light bouncing off the walls of the ship. Then another more violent flash of light and nothing.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shanaya's eyes flickered open.  _ **Am I dead? No- I can't be I'm inside a star- but how?**_ She lifted her hand up in front of her face. _**Nothing- I'm invisible? No- the atoms in my body have shifted in some way- but it seems my ring is affecting the photons surrounding us?**_ Her other hand was still holding onto-  _ **Shiro and Aru... NO...**_ She turned her head to look at the three silhouettes behind her.  _ **THANK GOD THEY ARE SAFE. She turned back and dragged them forwards to the core of the star where there was- a motorcycle? Honestly Shanaya wasn't surprised. If indestructible sentient lions existed- why not a motorcycle? Couldn't work any differently right? It was white and gold. Not bad. She was in desperate need of a ship right now- as her first one was destroyed.**_ She dragged them till they were balanced on the motorcycle as well  there was a rotating slot and she took her ring off and started it. Revved the motorcycle with one and, the other still holding onto the ring and she drove it through the star- ripping it till it exploded in a supernova.  _ **How the heck were they still alive?**_ As her vision cleared of the blinding light she realized two things. They were one- back to normal. The ring had messed with the subatomic particles in their bodies. Two- The motorcycle looked like a gross between itself and a hover bike and had a shield up and around it. And now all she needed to do was find the castleship and set a tracker to it- under Shiro's direction, of course. During the months they had been in space- they had learned many things.

1) Shiro has a clones and one of them is with Voltron

2) Lotor is an enemy of the Galra empire

3) Haggar is what they need to get rid of in order to defeat Zarkon. 

4) Shanaya was looking for her brother- Her actual brother- Aru was her cousin- who had apparently joined the Blade of Marmora

5) They were close than ever to defeating Zarkon now that he was weakened

_**Things change. They always do. Maybe I'll have a stable family for once. I'll do anything and everything to protect them and Voltron. I'll find my brother. It was my mother's death wish. So be it. I will avenge her death.** _


	4. OUR HEROES MEET

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UGH IDK MAN AHHHHHHHHH  
> LANCE SPEAKS SPANISH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk plz gimme feedback much appreciated.

_** BACK TO THE PRESENT!** _

_**Keith woke up to a Lance pressing himself into Keith and grabbing his jacket. Keith tried shifting, but that only mad Lance hold on tighter. What if someone else saw them like this? What if one of their allies saw them like this? He didn't want them to get the wrong idea- not that he wouldn't mind it though. He already knew he liked Lance for a while. But- Why would Lance like him back? And- What if he left him like everyone else did?**_ Keith shivered at the thought.  _ **If Voltron is gone- then the only family I ever knew is gone.**_ Keith groaned. He didn't want to think about this. They had other stuff to deal with. Like what to do with Prince fucking Lotor.  _ **FUCKING LOTOR. If he hadn't intervened, well Keith for sure would have died.**_ The truth was like a punch to the gut. 

Keith looked down to his shoulder, where he could see Lance was stirring. His eyes blinked open and he let out a slurred phrase. "Keef, whatchaa doooinnn hereee?"  _ **That's adorable.**_ Keith smiled fondly at him. "R-remember last night?" Lance sat up, rubbed his eyes, and yawned before answering. "Oh. Yea, I do. Th-Thanks for you know, everything- it means a lot... I'm glad you're here Keith" He said, one hand on Keith's shoulder. "Yea. I'm glad you're here too. Keith replied getting up. Suddenly, Allura's voice boomed through the speakers, calling them to the meeting.  "Well, that's our cue!" Keith said slightly smiling. He held out his hand to Lance, who took it and got up. They walked in silence to the meeting.

They sat down next to each other and listened as Allura went over ideas with them and the rest of the allies about what to do about Lotor. They talked for a while. Maybe they could keep him hostage on a planet. Ask for his comet ships? The didn't quite know yet. Lance and Keith jumped out of their seats in unison as they heard the alarms on the ship blaring. Keith ran forwards impulsively, to where the ship had indicated with the intrusion, with Lance, Matt and the others following him. He drew his dagger, which immediately turned into the sword. The intrusion came from the area near Red's hangar. Immediately, Keith came face to face with a girl. She twisted both her heels, which turned her high-heeled combat boots into cleats. She dodged all of Keith's attacks effortlessly, even though she did not have a weapon. It was clear that she was superior at hand to hand combat. A golden glow followed her hand as she blocked and punched. Lance came up behind them and started shooting at the girl, who held up a shield in response. It looked like she couldn't hold out for much longer between the two fighters before- 

"SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR KNEECAPS SUCKER!" A little boy launched himself at Lance from absolutely nowhere and well- attacked his kneecaps, causing them to fall. The little boy pinned him down. (Followed by a scream of "Dios Mío!" from Lance)and from what Keith witnessed, he looked strong for his age.  She darted away from Keith before Kolivan grabbed her neck and shoved her up against the wall.

" YOU ABSOLUTE DISGRACE YOU CHOSE TO COME HERE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! AFTER ABANDONING THE BLADE- JUST BY CHANGING YOUR APPEARANCE AGAIN! DON'T THINK WE'LL LET YOU GO THAT EASY! WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH THE RED LION!" He growled. She struggled under his grip before she managed to choke out,

"I-I'm not her... I'm not my mom! Y-You c-can't blame me for what she did! I didn't ask for it! I don't want any of the lions! I-I need I need to find him..." 

He let her go and snarled at her. The girl fell to her knees and started shivering her breaths heavy before her hands were put in handcuffs. 

"GET AWAY FROM HER! LET GO OF HER! AKKA! AKKA!" The little boy struggled in Lance's and the Princesses' grip his body shaking as his efforts proved to be in vain. Hot tears streamed down his face and his body shook with sobs. The princess told something to Lance before they dragged the boy away, who was kicking and screaming. Shanaya's eyesight became cloudy and she didn't remember much after that.  _ **I need to fix this. I'll get Aru back. I promise.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will update shortly


	5. A series of unanswered questions (Aru POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What information will they get out of me?  
> IDK  
> Aru bonds with Lance Fuck yeah

_**The blue one and the pink one dragged me away, despite my kicking and screams. They left me in one of the common areas of the castleship - Handcuffed, naturally. The blue one was left in charge of me. Probably to extract information.** _

I was right. It was definitely to extract information. He asked me a few questions. I had decided to stay quiet for a while, but then I spoke up. I could not loose Akka, I had to keep her safe- just like she did for me all these years- despite me not even being her actual brother.  

"Who are you?"

"Lance. I am the Paladin of the Red Lion."

_**Wait Lion? Voltron? These people were not our enemies! I needed to gain their trust and tell them to let me go. Truthfully I would have to say I act like I'm a thirteen year old instead of a nine year old. This should be easy.** _

" Get me out of these handcuffs and I'll give you the answers you are looking for."

"Why should I?"

"Do you want answers or not? And by the way, I also want Zarkon dead- so we /are/ on the same side." 

"Smart coming from a five year old..."

" I'M NOT FIVE!"

"I will give you what you are looking for- but only under a few conditions. One- You must free my sister. Two- You must bring yourself and one other- no more and Three- the other must not be the pink one or Shiro."

"H-How do you know Shiro, and why not!?"

"Long story- but just no. I don't trust them."

"Fine."

The Red paladin pressed a button and my handcuffs fell down. I shook the numbness out of my wrists- before the Red paladin led me to a Cryopods where three people were gathered- trying to access her memories. Good thing they had no luck so far. The people included A guy with a cool mustache, Kuron, and the guy Akka was fighting. I made sure to give Kuron a dirty look as I neared him. Not his fault he was a clone- but still. The Red Paladin- Lance- tolde something to the guy with a cool mustache and he turned to Kuron and told him something and they turned around and left. Lance then put a hand on the the guy Akka was fighting's shoulder and said something to him. Their conversation went a little like this:

"Lance! You can't trust him!"

"Keith, he's a little kid! cut him some slack!"

"Yes, but first Lotor and now this!"

"I know, But it's the only way to get answers!"

"Fine. but this is only because she refuses to tell us anything."

"Thanks."

The guy named Keith pressed something on the cryopod and the door? screen? glass? whatever you choose to call it- lowered and Akka tumbled out- only to be caught by Lance before she face planted. She got up and looked me in the eyes.

"What happened? Aru?"
    
    
      "మేము Shiro గురించి చెప్పాల్సిన అవసరం ఉంది" I replied  
    
    
    
    
    
    "నిజంగా?"  
    
      
    
    Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.  
    
    Keith and Lance just exchanged a look before Akka turned to both of them.  
    
      
    
    "Follow me." **_I hope they trust us enough to fix this._**  
    
      
    
    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not the best but it will get better  
> Translations to english-  
> We need to tell them about Shiro  
> Really?


	6. Kuron exists suckers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> well guess what just happened. F.U.C.K.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk anymore  
> feedback much appreciated tnx  
> Yay?

_**Lance didn't know exactly what he was doing- trusting a eight-year old, but he felt it was the only way. Mostly because he reminded him of his siblings? No, nope. Definitely not that.** _

Lance stuck close to Keith as they followed the girl to Red's Hangar. Immediately, Lance immediately checked on Red.  _ **You ok girl?**_

_**Yes my paladin..** _   


~~~~Good thing Red was safe. Her calming presence at the back of his mind reassured him in a way that no one could. Red was obviously a lot more fiery than Blue was- _ **Like Keith.**_ She was very protective of him though- he could sense it. Always there if he wasn't feeling ok- checking up on him occasionally- 

_**Good job sharpshooter** _

_**Well done my cub** _

_**Wonderful, Lance** _

_**Keep it up!** _

There was a lot of praise that Red gave him- it was different than calm Blue- but he liked it. It made him feel worth it. It was good not to have a constant reminder that he was not in Keith's shadow.  _ **Always a replacement for him.**_  

The girl walked up behind Red and waved her hand at an empty space behind the lion. Suddenly, A person leaning on a motorcycle that looked almost nothing like a motorcycle yet still a motorcycle flickered into existence. He was playing with a cat who was playfully batting at his fingers. Lance and Keith's eyes both widened when they saw who it was. 

"S-SHIRO!?!"

Lance looked at Keith who looked shocked- extremely so.

"Hey!" Shiro said, speed walking forward and embracing both of them.

"S-shiro- What's all this for? We saw you a second ago- should you be here?"

"That's because the Shiro you saw a second ago is not me."

"WHAT!"

"Yes- Black teleported me to her when we were fighting Zarkon." He pointed at the girl who was standing with her arms crossed, the cat now draping himself over her neck like a scarf. "The Shiro that is with you is a clone- The Galra used my arm to create clones of me- they are planning to create an army of well- me." 

"Why should we believe you or her?!?" Keith questioned- his face contorted with rage. 

"Haven't you noticed a difference!"

"No! We need more evidence to prove you are not a clone!"

"His hand glows differently-" The girl tried to interject but was cut off by Lance. 

"So what? We have to do something about this-"

"We tried our best to get your leader back, and we understand that you don't trust us at the moment. You must hide him- no one should know about him and this clone situation. I know it's a lot to process, but you need to trust me. Your Shiro does not know he is a clone- but I need you to do this for the sake of Voltron. We will wait for more evidence to support our claim." 

She held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Red purred loudly- he knew Keith heard it as well-  _ **Trust her.... Trust... Clone Bad -Trust......**_

Keith stepped forward. "Yes. but don't think we'll be merciful if you try something."

They shook on it before she replied. "I know you won't."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will update shortly - Ik this chapter was pretty bad


	7. Lance bonds with Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has some time to talk with Keith about Shiro

_**Lance flopped onto his bed. It's not like anything was different- With a 10 year old clone of Pidge and a professional if looks could kill running around the ship- And this** _ _new **information about Shiro- well, it wasn't the easiest thing to grasp immediately. Of course Red had trusted them- She just had to trust them at this time  with Mr. Loreal magazine here to make everything a quiznacking mess. But- Were they telling the truth...?**_ ****

He thought back to Naxela. The hadn't been on many missions because of the Voltron shows. He thought back to Naxela. He had urged them to stay, but- Shiro didn't listen. It- It wasn't on purpose was it? No- He just wanted to make sure he knew what the towers were. They always could have figured out what they were from the outside though-

He needed to talk with Keith about this. He didn't know if anything different happened- Shiro wouldn't act like this- Right? But which Shiro was the real Shiro now that there were two Shiro's? Lance got up from his bed and walked over to the Control Room to find Matt, Shiro(Kuron) and Allura huddled over some screen, and Pidge and Hunk cooing over Nikola Tesla (WHO NAMES A CAT NIKOLA TESLA!?) Keith was standing silently in a corner absentmindedly and half heartedly listening to the speech that Kolivan was giving him and one or two other blade members. He took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to Keith. 

"Hey man..."

"Lance?" Keith's eyes widened before his face settled with an expression of uncertainty and relief. He turned and said something to Kolivan before grabbing Lance's wrist and dragging him to the observation deck- It was quiet there and they could discuss. The sliding door closed behind them and Keith looked into Lance's eyes. 

"This is about Shiro isn't it?"

"Yes- I mean have you noticed anything different about him?"

"No- did you?"

"I-I mean- I know you don't want to believe them- but I think it's best if we consider what happened. We both heard Red-"

"Yes, but what do they gain out of this?"

"I- I don't know Keith.... but This may just be me but- I don't really feel that comfortable as Shiro's right hand- clone or not. You were always meant to be his right hand not me."

"What are you talking about? We all found our place now Lance- you belong on this team. Red is yours now!"

"Yes, but when I said something- Shiro didn't listen. We almost died because of it."

"He's been acting a bit different lately."

"I-I don't know. Now that you mentioned it- I think- maybe he has."

"You see what I mean?"

"Lance, I just really don't want to believe this. We have all been through a lot- Shiro has been through more than any of us had- Yet he ended up in Galra captivity twice. It is a possibility... But He's like my brother. He's the only family I've ever known. It's hard for me to stop trusting the Shiro who is with us right now just because they say he's a clone."

"I-I understand. I'm sorry Keith."

"It's ok." Keith turned a bit to the side and they both stood there looking at the starry scenery in front of them, basking in silence and doubt.

 


	8. Shanaya makes a new discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooohhh Keith finds a locket that just might make him question everything and make him an even bigger conspiracy theorist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys plz give feedback thx  
> much appreciated.

_**Shanaya discovered that the motorcycle had a compartment. It was cool- It had a bunch of stuff in it already - Long story short, She discovered a box filled with techy junk stuff. She made a mental note to save it for Pidge- she was told she was the techy one on this ship. She found two things that were interesting though. A box that had- lo and behold- seeds in it- And not just any seeds- she could tell that they were Earth seeds- she had the same storage box at home with the same stuff in it- Teleportation? Happened with Shiro- just a wild guess.** _

****The other thing she found was an old rusty locket. It didn't look familiar- It just seemed to call to her. She wasn't much of a jewelry type either. She put it on anyways. It was unusual. She felt normal at first, but she started to feel more and more drained at the end of the day. You know what- it actually didn't matter- they were in space- no one knew proper day from night. She walked into the common room- Surprisingly only Keith was there at the time. A blinding light flashed before her eyes, then nothing. She was aware enough to tell that the locket fell off though- She seriously didn't care where it was. Keith had seen her and ran over to her, gently shaking her shoulder. She suddenly regained consciousness and sat up quickly, accidentally elbowing Keith in the process. "Sorry..." She muttered before hightailing out of the room to her "quarters".

Keith looked down. She had dropped her locket.  ** _That's odd..._** He thought. He bent to pick it up, before- like a magnet- it wound itself around Keith's hand and disappeared.   He could still feel it there though. His eyes widened as he backed away on on all fours, tripping over himself in the process. He ran towards his room. This was something he had to figure out when everyone was asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will update shortly


	9. Keith becomes a conspiracy theorist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is a quiznacking conspiracy theorist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite literal trash

Keith sat in his room and stared at his hand. No matter how much he tried it just didn't appear again. He was utterly confused as to what had happened. He used to spend vargas like this, just staring at his marmorite blade. Everyone on the ship had just started to retreat back to their quarters to rest before they made a final decision on what to do with Lotor. Shiro had put him in charge of dealing with the two intruders on the ship. He closed his eyes to think, when he felt his hand grow warmer. He looked down and the locket was swinging gently from his palm. He noticed there was a clasp. He held it in his hand. He tried to pry it open, twice. The third time- it clicked open gently, and light came pouring out in all directions. He looked around him- he was still sitting, but his surroundings were gone. An image flickered to life in front of him. It showed a much younger girl. Her black hair was messy and tied into two pigtails. Her smile was perfect except for one gap. She had a long sleeve t-shirt, bermuda shorts, and flip flops. A tiny kitten sat in her lap, batting at the orange blossoms that were falling from the tree the little girl was leaning on. She looked up as an older woman sat beside her. She looked almost exactly like her- except that the woman had violet-grey eyes. She sat down next to the girl and she flickered-  _ **Galra?**_ One second she looked perfectly human then galra then human again. Keith's eyes widened as the picture disappeared. He scrambled backwards on all fours, his head spinning.  _ **WHAT IS GOING ON?**_ He only succeeded to  bump into another picture with crackled, sending shivers up his spine. The picture rippled a bit before becoming perfectly still again. This time, the girl was older. She had a small child balanced on her hip and a small bag of belongings, which she almost carelessly dumped. The image flashed forward to  a car crashing into a tree. Glass flew everywhere. It flashed forward again to the girl pressing herself to the bottom of the car, one of her eyes was now a different color and one side of her face was bloodied. She ripped open the base of the car seat to reveal a secret compartment she pulled out a metal cuff and fastened it to her forearm before reaching into the trunk of the car, carefully avoiding the glass, and slung the bag over her shoulder. She picked up the little kid and left the car. There was no evidence of her being there. The light in the room started to flicker before it showed one more thing. It showed Shiro in the black lion- During the battle with Zarkon. It showed him a second before he disappeared. He was gone. The image flickered again to show the first time Shanaya and Shiro met. The light in the room faded back to normal, and the locket closed with a small click, before he heard knocking on his door. 

"Y-Yes?"

Lance entered the room.

"Hey are you ok man?"

"Y-Yea, I'm fine."

"You sure?..."

"Yea. I just have a lot to process."

"I'm always here if you need to talk with me."

"I know. Thank you, Lance."

"Goodnight Keith."

"Goodnight Lance."

Lance strode out of the room before giving Keith a smile, then leaving. 

_**This was going to be a long night.** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry  
> Plz tell me if I should continue this or discard it completely.


	10. We need to have a talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well guess who talks to who  
> Thanks for 300 hits!! :):)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plz tell me if I should continue this- it's king of getting weird now.  
> Gimme some feedback plz  
> I wanna improve

_**Keith rolled around on his bed. After what seemed like an hour of fidgeting, He still couldn't sleep. Was that important? What was it trying to tell him?** _

_**Keith thought back to when he first joined the Garrison. Now that he thought about it, the girl did look familiar. he had seen her once or twice. And at the end of his first year, there were reports that someone died in a car crash but the Garrison dismissed it, like they always did. Like they did with Shiro. Like they did with everyone but Keith. Because the Garrison didn't care what happened to him. It was for the best anyways.** _

Keith jumped out of bed and quietly sneaked his way to the girls' room. He knocked on the door. "Come in" came a muffled sound from inside. The door slid open with a hiss and he walked inside. The girl was sitting on the bed pushing the hair off of the little boy's face. 

"What did you need?" She asked calmly while standing up. 

"You are supposed to be dead." 

"I am, but I am surprised that the Garrison went about that nonchalantly about my disappearance."

"I'm not. They did the same with Shiro."

"Interesting, but nothing new. Is there anything that you needed?"

"How did you know Shiro was a clone? You can't be sure. Why would he be a clone- and why are there two of them now? What are you planning? What are you getting out of this?"

"Actually, when Shiro and I were searching for the Castle of Lions, We came across a few Galra bases a bit too close to Earth for our liking. We managed to take them down, but along the way I found this." She held up a chip.

"It holds the video feed of one of the security cameras on a Galra ship." It showed them making clones of- Well Shiro. I seriously think this is some messed up stuff. I want Zarkon dead as much as you do. I don't need anything- I just want to help you and the rest of Team Voltron end the Galra Empire."

Keith took the chip and examined it. He would have to ask Pidge to hook it up to one of her computers later. 

"So...He's your brother?" Keith said slowly gesturing to the sleeping boy.

"Uh- No actually, He's my cousin. My aunt left him at my doorstep so that I would take care of him. I'm kind of like his mom- er sister now, I guess."

"Oh. Ok." Keith turned around.

"Well, thanks anyways."

"anytime."

Keith walked out of the room and walked back to his, quietly. He put the chip in his pocket and flopped onto his bed. Suddenly, he felt some pressure on his thigh. He drew his blade and got up only to see a cat sitting on him. 

"Nikola Tesla? How did you get here?"

The cat just walked up to his pillow and curled up next to him, purring.

"Night' kitty"

Keith put his blade back and fell asleep with the cat nestled next to his face. 


	11. Hey you are a clone you are not guilty of being weird Lance is hurt and we have a ship!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is getting worse by chapter   
> seriously you guys I need feedback

_**Lance was jolted awake by a harsh knocking sound at his door. Naturally, it was Keith.** _

****"Lance the meeting is about to start."

Lance jumped out of bed and changed quickly out of his robe and rapidly made his way down the hall. Everyone was there, Shiro(Kuron), Allura, Matt, Coran, Pidge, Hunk, Keith and Some blade members along with the rebel fighters. He sat down next to Keith. Shiro started talking. 

"Now we have discussed many things and we have questioned Lotor, but we have decided on one thing. Lotor's comet ships in exchange for protection from Zarkon." 

"I would like to thank everyone who helped us take Naxela. Especially Keith. We are proud of you."   _ **Ok. Something was definitely off. Shiro would never say that to Keith, let alone anyone, and definitely not after Keith almost died.**_ Matt's face was twisted in confusion, so was Pidge's and Hunk's. Lance could not take this any longer. He stood up. 

"SHUT UP SHIRO!" Everyone turned to look at Lance. He was on the verge of breaking down, the only thing stopping him, urging him to keep going was Red's warm and soothing buzzing at the back of his head. 

"SHIRO, KEITH ALMOST DIED TRYING TO SAVE US, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DO! THANK HIM! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!"

"LANCE SIT DOWN THIS INSTANT!" SHiro's gaze darkened.

"NO! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

"SIT DOWN AND STOP TALKING! LISTEN FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE! IF YOU LISTEN THEN MAYBE YOU WOULD BE A GOOD PALADIN!" That hurt. It was as if someone punched him in the gut. Over and over again. It almost hurt as much as thinking about what would have happened if Keith had died. Red growled protectively at the back of his mind. Right now, that was the only thing keeping him from going insane. Keith broke. He everyone could see the exact moment where he snapped. He snapped and Shiro was so done. 

"SHIRO LISTEN TO YOURSELF! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING! THE SHIRO I KNOW WOULD NEVER SAY THAT TO LANCE, LET ALONE ANY OTHER PALADIN!" Keith looked like he was going to punch him in the face if he could. 

"He's right." The room turned to face Matt. "Keith and I have known Shiro for the longest, and I think we both can agree that was nothing you would say. ever. What's gotten into your head!"

"WHY ARE YOU ALL TURNING ON ME!"

"WE'RE NOT TURNING, JUST LISTEN TO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!" Pidge caught on too.

The room broke into commotion with people yelling and arguing. The never noticed the door hiss open or the figure that walked inside. 

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Shanaya's deep growl broke the commotion in the room. It was dead silent. All eyes turned to her. 

"SHIRO GET OUT OF HERE." She glared at Shiro. Lance winced and looked away. Even Keith did. Her glare was really a knife to the heart. Even Shiro winced. 

"WHY SHOULD I." He stood his ground, but you could tell he felt anxious.

"JUST GET OUT." She sent a softer look towards Keith, who immediately picked up on what she was thinking. He took a step forward. 

"She's right. Get out of here Shiro. Now."

"Keith, what are you talking about!" Everyone except Lance gaped at Keith. Keith turned back and sent a pleading look towards Lance. Lance walked up next to Keith.

"I agree. You should go."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" Shiro growled before he strode out of the room. Shanaya swiftly walked over to the door and locked it. (There was a way to lock those sliding doors) 

"Keith go ahead. No need for my explanation" She turned and nodded at Keith, who pulled out a chip. 

"Pidge, hook this up." Pidge took the chip and connected it to the Castle's main projector after hacking into it and disabling a tracker that could transmit info from wherever the video was played. It showed the druids running tests on a number of Shiro's, taking DNA from his arm. Everyone looked dumbfounded. Kolivan was the one who spoke up next.

"How do we know she did not edit the camera feed?" 

"I can check it, but it will take me 2 vargas" Pidge piped up. Matt was helping her. Lance put his arm on Keith's shoulder. The others were discussing Shiro behind them, but all that mattered to him now was Keith.

"Keith..."

"Hm?" Keith turned around, a soft look of sorrow glazed his eyes, making them appear shades of purple Lance didn't know existed. 

"T-thank you for doing that" Lance said, averting his gaze from Keith's eyes. 

"I would do that a thousand times over for you..." Keith murmured. It was barely audible, and there was a pretty red dusting Keith's cheeks and ears. 

"W-what!" Lance squeaked. He felt his face heating up. Keith silently grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to a corner of the room where not many beind were chatting away about the current situation. 

"Lance- I just couldn't let Shiro talk like that about you!

"It's just- sometimes I think what he said was right- T-that the only reason I still feel like I exist is because I talk. Without it- I'm invisible. A nobody. Just the seventh wheel."

"You know you are more than that."

"Huh!" Lance lifted his head to see Keith looking softly at him.

"You know you are a valuable member of team Voltron, no matter what anyone says. You are their sharpshooter. They need you Lance. Don't think that way. You are one of the most talented people I've met."

"Sometimes I feel like I'm the reason you left us Keith."

"Wh-what!" Keith's eyes widened. 

" I just felt you- you left because of our talk." Lance felt tears forming in his eyes. He blinked them away. 

"No! What are you-"

"Keith, tell me the truth."

"But-"

"THe truth and Only the truth. I'm the reason you left, isn't it?"

"Lance, after our talk I realised something. This is war, and the weakest link in Voltron is me. I couldn't go on leading like that. I'm not a good leader. I-I just didn't feel comfortable piloting Black."

"That-" Lance started. He looked up. Lance hugged Keith. Keith let himself melt into the hug. 

"Lance, you were never the reason I left. It was me all this time. Don't blame yourself for that. I'm here now right?" They sat in silence for a while. Lance noticed Shanaya acting a bit dodgy, Walking near where Pidge was, and at the same time staying as far away from Kolivan as possible, who shot her death glares from time to time. soon they were all called out of their little worlds when Pidge exclaimed.

"It wasn't hacked! She's right!"

A voice came from the back.

"But how can he pilot Black?"

"He can pilot Black because he is just a copy of Shiro. Their quintessence is the same. Kuron has no Idea he's a clone, he just is living with all of Shiro's memories and inputs the Galra give him." Shanaya piped up from the corner of the room.

_**They had a lot of work to do. About this and Princess Makeup Ad.** _

 

 


	12. Keith faces his worst fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm not gonna spoil the best part

_**Kuron** **strode out of the room in frustration and suddenly stopped.**_ His body went through a series of spasms before he stood straight up again. His eyes were now completely yellow. His lips spread into an evil smirk and he made his way over to room of the room of the two newest additions to the coalition. He knocked at the door. Shanaya had strictly told Aru not to open the door. He listened, but when he heard knocking- he did reply. And when he thought it was Shiro, he did open the door. Which turned out to be the worst two decisions of his life. Kuron grinned at him before picking him up bu the neck with his bionic arm and throwing the poor kid into the wall. Aru hit the wall with a silent scream and fell flat on his face. He scrambled to get up and wiped some of the blood that was dripping from his nose. He tried to run and avoid Kuron, but he was cornered. The Galra had taken full control of him now. He picked Aru up by the neck again and held him up in the air choking him. Aru's hands went straight to his neck, trying to pry Kuron's arm off. He managed to choke out a response. 

"Wh-Wht d-do you w-want with m-me?"

"TELL ME WHAT YOU CAME HERE TO DO."

"W-we came to h-help de-defeat Zark-"

"NONE OF THAT.TELL ME THE REAL REASON WHY YOU CAME HERE."

"B-but I-I-"

"So, your not going to tell me the easy way, huh?"

Kuron dragged the boy from the room, his muscles completely lax, hanging like a limp doll from Kuron's grip. Kuron made his way to the med bay and threw the boy across the room again. He dragged out a chair and dumped the boy in it and tied him to it, giving him no way to escape.

"You'll never get away with this..." Aru rasped under his breath. Soon he blacked out. He was not sure when he woke up, but Kuron greeted him.

"Tell me who you are. Who you really are- You're a spy aren't you. You and that pathetic excuse are here just to split up the coalition, aren't you?" Kuron growled.

"Why should I tell you anything?" 

"If you won't talk, then maybe this will make you.." Kuron said, drawing out a knife.  He slowly made a cut down the child's forearm.

"What do you want with Voltron?"

"I don't care about Voltron..." Shiro made a larger cut down the boy's calf. Aru screamed in pain. Kuron shoved his arm into Aru's face, the purple glow blinding him. Aru suddenly felt the release of pressure and a thundering of footsteps. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Shanaya punching Kuron in the face. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shanaya stormed into the room and punched Kuron in the face. How dare he hurt her little brother! 

"How dare you hurt him!" She growled. Kuron paid no attention to her as he shoved her to the side and faced Lance and Keith, who were right behind her. 

"You dare threaten the Black Paladin of Voltron! You may be a paladin, but you are worthless!" He turned to Lance.

"And you, you rebellious runt, how dare you challenge my authority after all that I did for you at the Garrison! You ungrateful moron!" Keith barely flinched under his gaze.

Lance was the first to attack, raising his bayard and Shooting at Kuron, only to find that the bullets (what are they? really? plasma shots? small laser blasts? altean bullets?) were then deflected right back at him. He winced, preparing himself for the pain, the bullets too quick for him to move anywhere. Surprisingly, they never came. Keith was standing protectively in front of him, growling at kuron. He rushed forward with his dagger, and the two started fighting, Keith effortlessly dodging his blows, while Kuron charged at him with his bionic arm. Keith made the transitions between dagger and sword effortlessly, weaving in and out of attacks. soon the was in a position where he could have easily stabbed Kuron, immobilizing him. But he didn't do it. He still saw Shiro in him. He hesitated. Kuron then yanked Keith's blade away from him and stabbed him with it. Keith let out a silent scream and Kuron picked him up by the neck and held him against the wall, waiting for him to bleed to death. 

"Your time is up, traitor..." Kuron snarled. Lance couldn't take it anymore. He rushed forwards. 

"KEITH! NO! LET GO OF HIM YOU MONSTER! KEITH!" Kuron turned around and Lance didn't hesitate. He shot at Kuron with everything he had. Kuron let go of Keith and fell down, his body twisting sideways, and Keith fell into Lance's arms like a rag doll. The room was quiet except for Lance's harsh sobs and a quiet "No..." from Shanaya who was now holding a bloodied and unconscious Aru bridal style in her arms.

 

 


	13. Idk man Red is actually really great and Keith is sleeping in a pod.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uuuuhhhhhh

_**Lance looked at the limp body in his arms, his breath shaky, his tears falling onto Keith's armour and to the floor- salt tears mixing with crimson red.**_ Lance was weeping his heart out. Keith, His Keith, was hurt by someone who he trusted. Who Keith trusted. the next few days were blurry and almost invisible to Lance. Keith was now in a healing pod. Lance sat there in front of the healing pod, hugging onto Keith's jacket, his eyes puffy and red. 

"Lance, come on, It's been five days!"

"Lance, you have to move buddy!"

"Lance, come on, at least eat something?"

"Lance, at this rate, you'll be glued to the floor! Please!"

Lance could not care less about what the other's wanted. All that he could think of was the fact that Keith almost died. Because of him. Because he was too afraid to kill Kuron before he did something to Keith.  It was all his fault. Hunk and Coran eventually convinced him to go to Red's hangar. He sat in Red's cockpit, his words choked between sobs.

"R-red, th-this is all m-my fault... I-if I had done some thing he-he wouldn't have- RED! What did I do wrong? He-he probably doesn't even l-like me! I-I care about him so much- I-it's confusing- I truly care about him Red, but... He probably thinks of me as his rival and it's all my fault... It's all my fault Red..."

**_Hush dear Paladin... And listen.... A lot of things are much different than they appear...._ **

His sobs slowly reduced to nothing as he could feel Red humming in the back of his mind. 

Suddenly, Red glowed to life. A panel popped up in front of him. He pressed it. Did Red...record an audio?

He heard footsteps and then a bit of silence before- wait Keith?

"Hey Red. I don't really know how I'll be able to deal with switching Lions you know- I'm not Shiro. That's the problem. Lance is your paladin now, huh? I actually am not that surprised." Keith laughed before continuing. "He did say he wanted firepower- I'm glad it was him though. I-I don't really know why... but He thinks he's the weakest link Red... he's done so much- He's one of the most talented, most amazing people I know, and he thinks he's the weakest link! He's done more than I ever did for this team... Please take care of him for me Red... I might not have a connection with you, but please.... please take care of him for me. He needs it. Especially after I leave the team. He's right. the weakest link has to go. And... well, that's me. Keep him safe Red. I care about him. A lot.  I wish he didn't put that stupid rivalry thing between us- When I thought we had something- He said he didn't remember the binding moment. And he only talked to me about this- because I'm the t-team leader. I wished he wanted to talk to me about it as a friend... I'm sorry Red. Lance will probably kill me if he knew I was talking to you right now. But, please keep him safe. And just between you and me? I -I think I love Lance... Yea. I really do love him."  He heard footsteps as Keith walked out of his lion. 

"oh-oh m-my god! Red!" Lance sobbed. Keith loved him. KEITH LOVED HIM! But he didn't treat Keith right- He wanted things to change. So badly. He raced out of his Lion and was on his way back to the med bay before...

"Look who it is... The Red Paladin..."

"Shut up Lotor! What do you want!" Lance snarled.

"We'll be having that long-awaited discussion soon- but just remember- You are the weakest link. No one will listen to you let alone consider what you say.... They only do so because they pity you. Because you don't help them in any way, do you?"

"SHUT UP!" He raced out of there as fast as possible, Lotor's words still ringing inside his head. But then he remembered what happened with Red.  ** _Keith loves me..._**

****He resumed sitting in front of the cryopod waiting. This time, he shed tears of joy, knowing that his love was not hopeless after all...

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> will update shortly


End file.
